Sports-mad Brits helped drive record visitor expenditure in 2025 as UK-based travelling fans attended a stacked calendar of blockbuster sporting events across Sydney and NSW in their tens of thousands, including the current Ashes series.

New data from Tourism Research Australia showed that there were 350,800 visitors to NSW from the UK in the year ending September 2025, up 6.2 per cent year-on-year. 

These visitors injected $869.4 million into the NSW visitor economy, up 10 per cent year-on-year and the highest on record. And while tens of thousands of sports-mad fans flocked to the state’s stadiums, the boost in visitation and spend delivered significant economic benefits for hotels, pubs, restaurants and local businesses across the state.

In the year to September, total visitor expenditure reached a record $59.4 billion, up 7.3 per cent year on year.

UK visitors flocked to NSW in August 2025, with Australian Bureau of Statistics data showing arrivals surpassed pre-pandemic levels during the period. There were 14,240 UK arrivals, up from 13,070 arrivals in August 2019. 

More than 40,000 international fans are estimated to have travelled to Australia for the British & Irish Lions tour from June to August, with the sold-out final match at Accor Stadium attracting a crowd of 83,000 and hotel occupancy levels in Sydney reaching 92.9 per cent on 2 August 2025, the date of the final game.

UK applicants were also among the largest cohorts that entered the ballot for the TCS Sydney Marathon 2025, which featured 35,000 participants on the starting line on 31 August.

Visitation is expected to surge again over summer and across 2026, with tickets for The Ashes New Year Test at Sydney Cricket Ground selling out months ago. Thousands of the UK’s ‘Barmy Army’ fans will touch down in the Harbour City to attend the final test, which started today (4 January).

From 28 February to 1 March 2026, thousands of visitors will descend to the Sydney Harbour foreshore as the Great Britain team seek to consolidate its back-to-back Impact League wins during SailGP Sydney, which brings the world’s best sailors and high-tech foiling catamarans to one of the world’s most iconic natural amphitheatres. 

Sydney will also welcome two of the world’s biggest football clubs in July and August, with Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur headlining the Sydney Super Cup 2026, on top of a marquee women’s fixture between Chelsea Women and the A-League Women’s All Stars. 

The Sydney Super Cup is expected to inject more than $25 million into the NSW visitor economy. 

England will then compete in Rugby League World Cup matches in October 2026, with Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong all having host city roles, and which is forecasted to attract more than 32,000 fans to NSW and inject over $19 million into the state’s visitor economy.

NSW will be the big winner again during the Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027, with the state set to host more games than any other, including both semi-finals and the final. 

Destination NSW estimates the tournament will inject more than $610 million into the state’s visitor economy.

Sports tourism has been identified as one of the fastest-growing travel trends globally, with travel group Expedia estimating that it now represents 10 per cent of global tourism spending. 

Minister for Jobs and Tourism Steve Kamper said, “The Minns Labor Government’s world-class sporting events calendar in 2025 drove record visitor spending and boosted tourism numbers across the board, including tens of thousands of sport-mad Brits.

“And if 2025 was a stacked year for sporting events in Sydney and NSW, 2026 looks set to be just as big, and our state is ready to reap the rewards.

“Our refreshed NSW Visitor Economy Strategy puts world-class events at the heart of our tourism offering in the next decade, attracting visitors and delivering economic benefits across the state.”